Develop Bugs

What is this fuss about inadvertent reversion to S-ON?

Has VZW or HTC ever issued an update or other means by which they have remotely flipped the switch back to S-On? Why is there so much concern about this posted in various threads? Am I missing something?

godhamba said:
Has VZW or HTC ever issued an update or other means by which they have remotely flipped the switch back to S-On? Why is there so much concern about this posted in various threads? Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a few who are worried. But overall there is nothing to be afraid of.
Just whatever you do, DON'T take any OTAs!

godhamba said:
Has VZW or HTC ever issued an update or other means by which they have remotely flipped the switch back to S-On? Why is there so much concern about this posted in various threads? Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically, it is technically possible to turn a phone S-ON with an OTA. I don't believe it has ever been done however.
Sent from my HTC One

GrayTheWolf said:
There are a few who are worried. But overall there is nothing to be afraid of.
Just whatever you do, DON'T take any OTAs!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was one of those worried. The only reason I had asked is because if I sent my phone in to get S-Off (which I'm pretty sure I will) and development never really takes off after that, I don't want to be stuck on 4.2.2 for the entirety of my time with this phone. I wanted to know if I COULD take that OTA at some point without bricking the phone. I was told if I changed the CID back to VZW__001, then I wouldnt brick if I did an OTA...

crazyg0od33 said:
I was one of those worried. The only reason I had asked is because if I sent my phone in to get S-Off (which I'm pretty sure I will) and development never really takes off after that, I don't want to be stuck on 4.2.2 for the entirety of my time with this phone. I wanted to know if I COULD take that OTA at some point without bricking the phone. I was told if I changed the CID back to VZW__001, then I wouldnt brick if I did an OTA...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When 4.3 is released, a rooted version will be available within a day or two. There is literally no reason to take an OTA ever.
sent from my HTC one

m4rk0358 said:
When 4.3 is released, a rooted version will be available within a day or two. There is literally no reason to take an OTA ever.
sent from my HTC one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I figured. But better to know than not know
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

The fuss is if your phone is ever turned back to S-ON after having been S-OFF, there is a high chance that it will instantly brick itself if you have loaded unsigned firmware onto the device.

If I go S-OFF, proceed to unlock boot loader, install clockwork mid recovery and just debloat my phone or flash a ROM, I should fear bricking if S-ON is switched back on?
CNexus said:
The fuss is if your phone is ever turned back to S-ON after having been S-OFF, there is a high chance that it will instantly brick itself if you have loaded unsigned firmware onto the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

godhamba said:
If I go S-OFF, proceed to unlock boot loader, install clockwork mid recovery and just debloat my phone or flash a ROM, I should fear bricking if S-ON is switched back on?
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Click to collapse
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but no, no worries with a custom ROM and recovery. Only for unsigned firmware, something like a custom hboot for example.

peteschlabar said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but no, no worries with a custom ROM and recovery. Only for unsigned firmware, something like a custom hboot for example.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is correct. If you flash an unsigned HBOOT and the flag goes S-ON somehow, the phone will refuse to boot because of the failed security check on the HBOOT. Besides that you're fine.

[Q] rumrunner / s-off without a working OS

It's been awhile since I've messed around with Android bootloaders, but my buddy just came to me with a seemingly fried HTC One that has been stock since it was purchased. I'm trying to help him out.
We can get to the bootloader, but that is it. No OS will load, and the factory reset option does nothing. I read up on unlocking the bootloader via HTCDev, but as I'm sure you're all aware, that no longer works (MID Error 160) due to Verizon patching the exploit.
I discovered the following XDA development thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2473644 , but I am not allowed to post on that thread because I don't have enough posts!
It's a little bit over my head, as I'm not familiar with the rumrunner / s-off process. However, it seems that I will need to follow those steps if I want to unlock the bootloader with the hope of flashing a ROM and resurrecting the phone.
My question is this: with the current state of this phone not being able to load any OS / ROM, and having a locked bootloader, is there any possibility I can unlock the bootloader and get a ROM flashed? Is it possible I'm overthinking this? Is there a way to simply flash the stock ROM again since that is seemingly nowhere to be found? Or is this phone simply bricked? Since I can get to the bootloader, I would imagine there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks for any help you guys can give. If someone wants to offer their assistance to me directly and take the issue off the message boards, I'll gladly PayPal you 20 USD if you have a solution!
Hope everyone is having a Happy New Year.

Just to clarify, the bootloader is locked and I have S-ON.
It seems I am in a bind, because I cannot flash any stock ROM or recovery with a locked bootloader. And I cannot unlock my bootloader because Verizon has blocked the standard exploit using HTCDev.

Hey buddy, what you need is a signed ruu which is the factory version of the os that comes with the phone. The signed part means that you can flash it with locked bootloader. Here Ya go
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46506621
Just ask me if you have any questions. You will need to have the htc drivers and fastboot and adb installed of course.

Would that work if I wanted to return to 4.2 from 4.3, locked and s-on? I was too nieve and took the 4.3 update
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda app-developers app

tdwpkidd said:
Would that work if I wanted to return to 4.2 from 4.3, locked and s-on? I was too nieve and took the 4.3 update
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha I wish.

Chilidog said:
Hey buddy, what you need is a signed ruu which is the factory version of the os that comes with the phone. The signed part means that you can flash it with locked bootloader. Here Ya go
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46506621
Just ask me if you have any questions. You will need to have the htc drivers and fastboot and adb installed of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for your reply. I've got the HTC drivers and the Android SDK loaded, and I used the fastboot tool when trying to unlock the boot loader using HTCDev.
Just to clarify, am I simply looking to download the signed RUU at the bottom of the second paper in that thread? Then flash it? Is that all? A lot of the other instructions in that thread seem irrelevant to my situation. If you could just point me in the right direction as to what I need to do with that RUU file, I'd appreciate it.

jmattia said:
Thanks so much for your reply. I've got the HTC drivers and the Android SDK loaded, and I used the fastboot tool when trying to unlock the boot loader using HTCDev.
Just to clarify, am I simply looking to download the signed RUU at the bottom of the second paper in that thread? Then flash it? Is that all? A lot of the other instructions in that thread seem irrelevant to my situation. If you could just point me in the right direction as to what I need to do with that RUU file, I'd appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you took the 4.3 update you will need the 4.3 ruu which I haven't seen yet....so if locked and s-on you are screwed. Now depending on how far they took the flashing and since you say its a sprint phone you might be able to HTC Dev unlock and at least get something booted until s-off is achieved on 4.3.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

@jmattia Check your PM.

[Q] RUU

Is it possible to flash another RUU that is not verizon even if it isnt the correct carrier or radios with S-On and Bootloader locked? Like the Google Edition Ruu or something. I was thinking that if you flashed an RUU with a similar phone, might give a way to circumvent the Verizon issue. I think I know the answer is already know but I thought I would ask anyway. This comes from the thought process of when I had the Droid X and we flashed an alternate carriers image to get around the Verizon root issue that came with the last update. What happens if you do try to flash an alternate Ruu?

It just won't work or worse you could brick. Chances are it will fail the checks trying to run the ruu and will stop. My suggestion would be to wait for a method to be posted. Beaups may be waiting for KitKat to be released officially before posting a new method. You just never know.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

ccsoccer03 said:
Is it possible to flash another RUU that is not verizon even if it isnt the correct carrier or radios with S-On and Bootloader locked? Like the Google Edition Ruu or something. I was thinking that if you flashed an RUU with a similar phone, might give a way to circumvent the Verizon issue. I think I know the answer is already know but I thought I would ask anyway. This comes from the thought process of when I had the Droid X and we flashed an alternate carriers image to get around the Verizon root issue that came with the last update. What happens if you do try to flash an alternate Ruu?
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Click to collapse
If s-on it will fail because the cid will not match what's in the signed ruu.
Sent from my HTC6600LVW using Tapatalk

[Q] S-On Tampered Locked Secruity Warning

I'm stuck in the bootloader with S-ON Tampered, Locked, and Security Warning flags. Can't find an encrypted RUU or figure out how to encrypt the one I have to get this rolling again, can anybody give me a clue or anything on how to go about doing this or getting this thing functional again?

You can get the ruus at the bottom of this post. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46506621

cmlusco said:
You can get the ruus at the bottom of this post. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46506621
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it always says:
FAILED (status read failed (too many links))
Probably because its 2.10 RUU and mine is on 3.11?

Yeah an s-on phone wont allow you to flash an ruu version older than the one already on the phone. And unfortunatley, we do not have the newest ruu available yet.

So there's nothing I can do but wait? I was pretty sure I had everything flashed back to stock but once I turned S-ON it wouldn't let me go past the bootloader. My phone's sound completely stopped working so I was going to take it in to get it taken care of, but I guess I can't do anything at all now.

You can probably still flash the RUU if you get the correct one i would assume. I've reset the tampered flags before also. I always made it a point to flash the older RUU's before flipping s-on for a warranty return, because it is so much easier to get s-off in case I mess something up, so not sure how being on that newer firmware is going to play out.

ccarr313 said:
You can probably still flash the RUU if you get the correct one i would assume. I've reset the tampered flags before also. I always made it a point to flash the older RUU's before flipping s-on for a warranty return, because it is so much easier to get s-off in case I mess something up, so not sure how being on that newer firmware is going to play out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'm just keeping an eye open and checking for the latest RUU. First time getting into this stuff, so lesson learned. Just sucks I'm without a phone even just to text/apps until then.

I have the same issue
GrayFalcon11 said:
Yeah I'm just keeping an eye open and checking for the latest RUU. First time getting into this stuff, so lesson learned. Just sucks I'm without a phone even just to text/apps until then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was S-Off and unlocked and rooted, I was trying to flash back to stock for a warranty exchange. Now I'm Locked, S-On and flagged Tampered and stuck in the bootloader. I'm on 3.11.605.10 as well. I only have 4 days left to send this back to verizon.. Any suggestions? or I'm I butt ****ed with no lube.

keith7120 said:
I was S-Off and unlocked and rooted, I was trying to flash back to stock for a warranty exchange. Now I'm Locked, S-On and flagged Tampered and stuck in the bootloader. I'm on 3.11.605.10 as well. I only have 4 days left to send this back to verizon.. Any suggestions? or I'm I butt ****ed with no lube.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What happen? I have 3 days left to send back to Verizon and I'm still s-off and unlocked and I don't wanna mess it up.

Do an older ruu.
Lock bootloader using fastboot.
Go s-on using fastboot.
Do a signed ruu.

cmlusco said:
Do an older ruu.
Lock bootloader using fastboot.
Go s-on using fastboot.
Do a signed ruu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why 2 ruu?

Probably not really needed, but just to be sure the phone got wiped out.

Let Me Make sure I understand
cmlusco said:
Probably not really needed, but just to be sure the phone got wiped out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I or can I not flash an older RUU?
How do I get a hold of a signed RUU? Is it the one that says decrypted?
Will this at least allow me to wipe the phone to where it does not say tampered?
I could have sworn I have tried these RUU's but I get a remote signature error.

No if you are s-on you can not flash an ruu which is an older version than the phone is currently on.
The signed and decrypted (not signed) ruu's can be found at the bottom of the second post of santods rom radio kernel thread in development. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46506621
In order to remove the tampered flag you would need to get s-off again. I believe there is a new exploit for 4.2.2 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=51481200, if you want to go that route.
Remote sig error is because you were trying to flash an unsigned ruu while s-on.

oh well
cmlusco said:
No if you are s-on you can not flash an ruu which is an older version than the phone is currently on.
The signed and decrypted (not signed) ruu's can be found at the bottom of the second post of santods rom radio kernel thread in development. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46506621
In order to remove the tampered flag you would need to get s-off again. I believe there is a new exploit for 4.2.2 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=51481200, if you want to go that route.
Remote sig error is because you were trying to flash an unsigned ruu while s-on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welp, a couple seconds in the microwave solved my dilemma. I hope. It won't come back on.
Next question, my replacement device has 4.4.2 on it. Will the current S-off tools work to flip it from S-on to S-off?

keith7120 said:
Welp, a couple seconds in the microwave solved my dilemma. I hope. It won't come back on.
Next question, my replacement device has 4.4.2 on it. Will the current S-off tools work to flip it from S-on to S-off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, just follow the directions on the WeakSauce thread. -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2699091

eman7131 said:
Yup, just follow the directions on the WeakSauce thread. -> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2699091
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'm now S-Off

how would i go about going S-On in fastboot? my fiance device was thought to be returned to stock but we found out that it says Relocked but still says S-Off and when we try to use Firewater it stops after we say Yes cause for some reason its already showing S-off but the bootloader is actually locked.

Stuck Bootloader
Hi i need help. I am stuck in bootloader with s On and relocked. Ive read everything and no go. Please help any one

[Q] Stock Recovery Question

Hey guys,
First post and thread, unfortunately. May have been done before, so sorry if that's the case (and if it is I guess a quick link can clear this confusion up!)
I've got a tmobile HTC One M8 running Android 4.4.4 with an unlocked boot loader, clockworkmod 6.0.4.8 with s-on.
New android update is out and while I'm not necessarily keen on updating it, the icon is annoying. As well, I originally rooted the phone for some apps and sorts that I don't even use and I'm mainly interested in just bringing the phone back to a stock recovery so I can unroot it.
Tried using the RUU posted but I believe due to the s-on and unlocked boot loader, it doesn't work for me. Step one is an error on it.
What can I do here to bring the phone back to stock recovery? I'm not 100% I made a backup before I put cwm on it. May have but for arguments sake let's say I didn't.
Any and all help is appreciated. thanks so much everyone.

Metilinos said:
Tried using the RUU posted but I believe due to the s-on and unlocked boot loader, it doesn't work for me. Step one is an error on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RUUs run fine with s-on, and I don't know why folks keep posting that it doesn't.
But you do however, need to relock the bootloader (since you are s-on) to run the RUU. Its absolutely mandatory (with s-on), and almost certainly why the RUU fails. THe RUU also needs to match your CID (but if you are properly trying a T-Mob RUU on a T-Mob version M8, that is not the issue), and further you cannot "downgrade" or run an older version RUU (older hboot) than what is on the phone.
But again, unlocked bootloader alone will make the RUU fail.

I haven't really seen a whole lot of s-off since firewater hasn't worked any longer. I kind of figured the unlocked bootloader was an issue as well. Mobile right now and working so not a whole lot I can do. Basically make sure the CID matches the RUU and relock the bootloader and I should be good to go? I picked up the T-Mobile RUU and I have a tmobIle M8, I didn't really think to check the CID, I just mainly assumed the failed run was from other sources.

Metilinos said:
I haven't really seen a whole lot of s-off since firewater hasn't worked any longer. I kind of figured the unlocked bootloader was an issue as well. Mobile right now and working so not a whole lot I can do. Basically make sure the CID matches the RUU and relock the bootloader and I should be good to go? I picked up the T-Mobile RUU and I have a tmobIle M8, I didn't really think to check the CID, I just mainly assumed the failed run was from other sources.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you have the right carrier RUU, the CID will also match. I assume T-Mobile US? As there is also T-Mobile in Europe.
As long as its right carrier (CID) and not trying to run an older version RUU, the unlocked bootloader is the only problem.

Yes T-Mobile US.
I'll have to double check the RUU, I'm pretty sure I grabbed it off here from a different thread, but like you said, the unlocked bootloader obviously was an issue.
In the case, and I'm assuming it's rare, that it could be that, is there an easy way to tell whether or not I have the most current RUU?
Thanks a bunch, really appreciating the help. I've been kind of at a standstill with this and haven't really tried much in fear of killing the phone.

Metilinos said:
In the case, and I'm assuming it's rare, that it could be that, is there an easy way to tell whether or not I have the most current RUU?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean its rare to run the wrong version RUU? If so, I'd say no, its not rare at all. Folks are often not aware of the version requirement (with s-on, this requirement is bypassed with s-off) and try to run an "old" RUU.
All the T-Mob US RUUs are posted here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2714456
3.32 is Android 4.4.4
4.20 is Android 5.0

3.32 is what I have at the moment. With android 5 coming over the air a week or so ago for myself and 4.4.4 being on the phone when I got it just a couple months back, that's what I guess I was insinuating by rare. But thank you a bunch for your help. Again it's very much appreciated. Obviously got myself in a little over my head here.